Tea Break
by Solitary Shadow
Summary: Teatime at Sonozaki Shion's apartment is never boring. Kasai x Shion, oneshot


**Disclaimer:**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni is not mine. I don't own Kasai or Shion either. Both of them are for the win, though.

**Author's Note:** I do like Kasai x Shion. It seems a lot more realistic to me somehow. They've known each other for a long time so there's no doubt that they're in an almost father-daughter like relationship. Or at the very least, they're the best of friends who are totally comfortable with each other. This is revealed in Ep 22 of the first season (Shion: So if something bad happens to me, Kasai will come to my rescue, right? Kasai: Hell no.)

I like those kinds of mature relationships where both members of the couple depend on each other, but not so much that they're permanently stuck with each other. Meep.

Kasai still likes sweet things. Go figure.

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"Looks like it's only us two this weekend."

Shion sighed and stretched her body on the sofa in her apartment. There was no reply to her statement except for a soft 'hmm', but she didn't seem to mind; she looked towards the kitchen and peered curiously at whoever was in there.

"Kasai, what are you doing in there? You're sure taking an awfully long time to get two cups of coffee."

"I'm coming, Shion-san." A male voice answered and within seconds a tall man stepped out of the kitchen, wearing a blue apron, holding two platters with a slice of chocolate cake on each and a mug of warm, steaming coffee. Shion looked up, astonished.

"I did _not_ hear you making any cake. And you didn't have any with you when you came over here..." She said, amazed at the sheer possibility of the situation. "Kasai, how did you do it? It's wonderful!"

"I sneaked one of the cakes from Angel Mort into your fridge earlier. You didn't see it because it was in that bag. There's more than just guns and bullets in there." Kasai smiled and sat down next to her, taking the apron off and setting it aside. "I must admit it was difficult to get it out and cut it without taking too long."

"You did perfectly well." Shion shot him an affectionate glance. "So how's things recently? Onibaba and Mion? Are they both all right?"

"Oryou-san is healthy and well. So is Mion-san. I heard that they're already making plans for the Watanagashi Festival next year." Kasai dipped a spoon into the sugar bowl and put in two spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee. Shion gaped slightly at the news.

"But the Watanagashi isn't due until June. And that's _seven months_ away!"

"You know how Oryou-san likes to be early and prepared. Mion-san and Kimiyoshi-san also agreed to having the decorations delivered early. They'll be stored until the next year."

"Trust onee-chan to be like Onibaba." Shion sighed. "Maybe it's best that I wasn't the Sonozaki heir. I'm too laid back."

"I wouldn't say that. Anyway, they're calling up the City Hall for all the preparations." Another spoonful. "Hmm. That should be sweet enough."

"You drink your coffee with too much sugar." Shion frowned and pouted. "That's not good for you, Kasai."

"I_ like_ it sweet." He replied blandly, stirring his coffee.

"That's going to do nothing for you in the future, you know."

"Uh-huh." Kasai answered, half-listening. "Sure..."

"Aren't you going to cut your sugar supply down? You eat the sweetest things in Angel Mort almost every day. You have three spoons of sugar in your coffee. Isn't that sweet enough for you?" Kasai shook his head. "Aren't you going to cut it down?"

"No."

"Even if I begged you?" Shion pouted cutely, her eyes bright and pleading like a puppy. Kasai looked indifferent and took up his mug of coffee.

"No."

"For God's sake." Shion replied crossly and huffed, leaning back against the sofa. "I keep on telling you to cut down on sugar. You've got to stop having so much!" Kasai took a sip of his coffee. "...But seeing as you can't be persuaded with words, I switched the sugar with salt instead." He almost spat out the mouthful of coffee at that, gagging. Shion grinned wickedly and took a sip of her coffee. "Revenge is sweet."

"Why the _heck_ did you have to do that?!" Kasai blurted out and put down his coffee mug, still coughing and gagging. The rich taste of the coffee mingled with unbearable saltiness seemed to be too much for him, and he leaned back, loosening his tie and gasping. Shion merely took another sip and giggled.

"You do look really cute, Kasai... with you like that. That's very out of character for you." She smiled. Kasai didn't reply but looked at her, annoyed.

"Cheer up. You still have the cake to satisfy your sweet tooth." He still looked suspicious. She just giggled again. "Don't worry, I haven't done anything to it. I didn't even know you had cake with you until three minutes ago."

Kasai took up his fork and sliced off a small piece off the cake. He tasted it slowly, the taste of chocolate lifting his spirits; Shion, upon seeing that Kasai had calmed down somewhat, put down her cup of coffee and cut off a small piece herself. "This is lovely. It's the new cake with ganache filling, isn't it?"

"Yes. Officially out in the public next week. I got to have one of the first ones because I'm the chief executive." He looked slightly proud of himself as he said that. "And I trust you've heard of this one ages ago, Shion-san."

"I wondered when it was coming out for weeks." Shion replied. "It's lovely."

"I designed it myself. Yoshiro-san came up with the ganache idea, though. I was planning to have it coating the cake all over, but he changed it a little. I owe him for that." He took another bite. "But the rest of the design was mine."

"No wonder it's so delicious." Shion gave him another affectionate look, and Kasai smiled. The girl had to think about the enigmatic man and what really was in his mind; Kasai looked threatening to most, with his tall, well-built body, bland expression and dark sunglasses he _always_ wore (no matter _what_ the weather conditions were), but once he began talking, he was sensitive and interesting, and if one could identify with him - like Shion - funny, even. His dry, sarcastic yet mature sense of humour fascinated Shion. How gentle he was on the inside, not many knew. Kasai, with his neatly pressed suit and white-collared shirt, Kasai, with an unusual liking for sweet desserts, him and his rugged, somewhat handsome face, his polite, soft-spoken manners; all of those appealed to her and she admired him greatly.

Although she _did_ wish he could stop eating so _much_ sugar.

"There." Kasai had already finished off his slice, and Shion was nearly finished with hers. "That was nice. Although I can't have the coffee-" Here he shot her a slightly annoyed, but still amused, glance. "I could have one other thing, I suppose."

"And what would that be?" Shion put down her fork. "Somehow I get the feeling, Kasai, that it isn't liquid."

"It isn't." Kasai took out a pack of cigarettes and examined it, and then put it into his mouth. He fished around for a lighter and clicked it on. "I only have one left. Would you mind if I smoked just one here, Shion-san?"

"_Yes_." Shion said, causing Kasai to look startled and look towards her. "Smoking's not good for you either, Kasai. Consider your age. And consider the effect it'll have on the aftertaste of chocolate cake!" She was getting more het up by the second, knowing that Kasai's main weakness and respect lay on sweet desserts. "Imagine! That foul thick smoke _polluting_ the taste of rich, sweet chocolate cake! That'll be horrendous! You love chocolate, Kasai, and I know that you really don't want to ruin it!"

Kasai appeared to have lost his desire for a cigarette by this time and quietly put it back in the pack, putting away the lighter also. "This is why I can do _nothing_ near you, Shion-san." He muttered. "Well, if it displeases you that much... but you do know that this means that you have to give me some of your coffee, right?"

"Huh..." Shion pouted again, but handed over her mug of coffee. She_ wasn't _going to have him smoking. "I'd much rather you did that." He sipped the dark liquid delicately and leaned back, a small smile gracing his lips.

"Mmm. This is nice. Maybe I should try it black next time."

"That's so much better." Shion giggled and moved over to curl up next to him. "I like you more when you're in a mood like this, Kasai. Isn't coffee good?" He nodded, looking over at her.

"Besides, cigarettes make kisses taste bad."

Kasai chuckled, one hand moving over to stroke her head gently. "Oh? And how would you know _that_, Shion-san?"

"What, me?" Shion laughed merrily, throwing herself next to him and giggling madly. She rubbed her cheek against his, holding him by the waist tightly. Kasai looked startled but pleased. "I don't know, I don't know- Kasai, I don't _know-_"

With that, and a soft giggle, Shion pulled Kasai towards her by his necktie and leaned over to steal a kiss. Although she couldn't see it, his eyes had widened behind his sunglasses, and he was visibly hesitating. It was foreign to Kasai; but she was sweet, and her lips felt soft on his. His mustache tickled against her, but she stayed there nonetheless. She could taste the chocolate, and the coffee on his lips - delicious - and pulled away shortly, smiling. The kiss had lasted merely a few seconds, but Kasai seemed breathless, overcome by the sudden attack. He rubbed his neck slightly, loosening his tie again. Shion curled up next to him, resting her head against his chest.

"Aww. You're cute." Shion murmured against his chest and brought her arms up to embrace him again.

Kasai didn't hesitate to return the hug this time.

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I was really high on chocolate at the time I wrote the 'smoking-ruins-chocolate-cake-omgz' bit. I apologize. Shion sounded a lot like K1 there. xD

Merry Christmas.


End file.
